Fire Emblem: Into Insanity
by Marine3950
Summary: Well, I'm not sure how it happened, or where to go from here, but here I am. I knew it would happen at some point, and I'm actually surprised it took this long to get here. I'm not hopelessly lost, thankfully, but it's definitely going to take some time to wrap my head around this. But it could be worse. I could be stuck in another one of those Awakening Self-Inserts.
1. Chapter 1

Damn it, my everything hurts now. I sit up and shake my head. Rough wool blankets fall off of me. Wait a second... Nope, no second bunk over my head. Definitely not back home. Deep breaths, don't panic. Just grab your phone and-

Pockets. There are none in these pants. I throw the blanket off of me. I'm wearing an unidentifiable fabric shirt, and the pants are definitely leather, and the belt looks nice. I reach up to my face... Alright, glasses are gone. I run my tongue across my teeth. Braces are gone as well.

What the hell? I collapse on my bed after getting home from a trip, close my eyes for, what, five minutes? Where the hell did I end up teleporting off to? I get up off of the bed and start walking around. The place has absolutely no modern conveniences. It's like I'm back in Horseshoe, only it's worse, yet better because I'm not sitting in a tent huddled around a propane flame and eating boiled hotdogs.

Bed, cot, closet. I pick up the picture sitting on the bedside table. It's a hand-painted picture of a man and woman. The woman doesn't look familiar at all, but, somehow, the man seems a bit familiar.

"Good, you're awake." A gruff voice sounds behind me. I turn on my heel and see... an older version of the man from the picture. Black hair from his head creeps along the sides of his face to join a beard. His neck seems impossibly thick, and he's wearing some leather armor. I'm honestly amazed that I can see any of this without my glasses, since usually I'm restricted to blurs at ten feet without them.

"Yeah, I'm awake." I say, still not sure how I got here. Mind starts racing, but I keep enough of a hold on it to realize I'm still clueless. "Now, could you tell me where I am, exactly? I got lost on my travels."

The man cracks a smile. "Kinda young to be off on your own, don't you think?"

I shrug. "Sixteen's not that young, in my opinion, but we're getting off topic." Unless I've suddenly regressed a year or two.

The man nods. "Well, when we picked your living carcass up, you were in the mountain pass. Right now, you're in a village on the east side of the Ide mountain range."

Ide... why the hell does that ring a bell in my head? "Thanks for helping me out, then." I say. "Did I still have my things on me?"

He nods. "Yeah. You had a pack with you, and some gear." He walks into the closet, and comes back out with a leather backpack, a waterskin, a hatchet, a sheathed knife, and a small sack that clinked when it hits the wood floor. I scoop up the items, going over them as though I was checking to make sure that it was all there. The sack has a few gold coins in it. I realized that I was probably asleep right now, and this was all a dream. Well, why not play it out? The waterskin was empty, and the pack didn't have anything in it except for a leather-bound book and a stick of graphite bound in coarse string. Note to self – writing can stave off insanity in a pinch.

"Looks like it's all there." I say, donning the gear. "Does my rescuer have a name?"

The man nods. "Yes, I'm-"

The door to the house blows open, and another person, this one looking to be a bit younger than myself, bursts in. He has black hair too, and is wearing a leather headband and what looks like light leather armor. "Dad!" He practically yells. "Bandits approaching!"

In stark contrast to his son's actions, the man keeps his calm, something I mentally commend him on. "Ross, I'm getting you out of here." He turns to me. "If you want to live, you should come with us."

I nod. "Will we need to fight our way out?" I ask.

He nods, and grabs an impressive looking axe from where it sat over the doorframe. I hand off the hatchet to the kid, and take the knife out of its sheath. I look to the man, and nod. Then, we start to run.

* * *

It's a quaint little village. In any other time, I don't think I'd really mind staying here. But right now, the screams of panicked townspeople make it a little hard to want to call the place home. I'm at the back of the group, following instead of leading because I have absolutely no idea where the hell I'm going. We're just bull-rushing right down the main road, trying to get the hell out of Dodge. Oddly enough, the hip injury that I got from middle school track doesn't seem to mind me running at a full sprint right now. Dream physics aren't that bad.

There's a pair of shirtless dudes blocking the gate of the village, and each of them's got an axe on them. Suddenly, the knife in my hand feels woefully inadequate.

The bandits notice us, and charge back. Three on two. I like these odds.

Go in, use that agility to get around behind the first one, then SHIT HE TURNED AROUND! Duck the axe, kick the leg out from under- Shit that's like a brick wall! Incoming axe! ROLL! ROLL! Get back up, where is he- OH GOD THAT HURT! Roll out of the way, try to get the air back in your lungs. Shit, that hurt.

That hurt... I can get hurt... I can die... This is real... Shit.

Look up, he's coming back! Alright, stay calm. Timing is everything. Wait for it... NOW! Jump, turn, his axe just planted itself into those timbers. Foot finds another building, plants, leaps off! Knife's out as he turns...

And with the blade between his collarbone and shoulderblade, angled into his windpipe, I can say without a doubt that if he's not dead yet, he will be soon. The blade comes out with a sucking sound that nearly makes me vomit, and good lord now there's blood everywhere. That's his blood. Oh, fuck, I just killed a guy. Calm down, Andrew. Deep breaths. Turn around, look for the the guy and his kid.

Oh, they're running. Well, I should probably follow them, shouldn't I?

* * *

Ah, shit, kid's bleeding. That's not another guy- alright, some of it is, but I think that most of it is his. He took a really nasty cut to his shoulder. Kid's trying to shrug it off, Dad's not buying it, and starts yelling for help.

Meanwhile, I start going through all of the changes. Eyes are practically 20/20 now, that's nice. Braces are gone. Hip's fine. The whole 'AS' thing is still up there in the head, but I don't see that as a problem to be fixed, anyways.

Looking back, all those 'fights' I had with Thomas seem to have paid off. I'm not totally useless out here, though I'd be more of a help if I could get my hands on a sword. Knives were always his thing- okay, anything that he could fit into a pocket is his thing, but- Brain! Think here! Not there!

Hey, flapping. I look towards the source and see... Alright, that's a pegasus. Those exist, apparently. It comes down into the run down fortress that we holed up in, and the rider seems to relax a bit.

"I'm here to help." She says. Garcia (we exchanged names while running) hands off Ross to the rider. I get a good look at her. More familiarity, still no solid answers.

She flies off, and another pair of bandits makes their debut. Two on two... slightly less favorable odds.

They charge. Fight or die, Andrew. Fight or- hey, that one's down. Garcia picks his big axe back up. I'm just as surprised as the surviving bandit. I recover quicker, though. Charge right in, bandit collects himself and charges back. I roll off to the side, bandit follows...

Another one bites the dust. Garcia takes his second hand axe out of the bandit's back, then retrieves the first one. "Just how many of those things do you have?" I ask, getting up.

He shakes his head. "Just the two."

* * *

Peg comes back, and I tell her to take the father. "Your son." I tell him. He nods, gets on, and they fly off. Then she comes back, picks me up, and we're off. We go over the cliff, and I get a good look at the area, and I see WHY THE FUCK IS IS SO FAMILIAR?

We set back down on the other side, near some villages that managed to close their gates in time. Looking ahead, I see an armored knight with a freaking tree trunk for a lance, a pair of cavaliers, a priest with a staff, and a blue haired-

Oh.

So that's how it is, huh? Well, could be worse. Could've been another one of those Awakening Self-Inserts. Haven't played vanilla Sacred Stones in a while, but I'm still pretty familiar with the storyline. Well, that explains a lot. Still not sure how the hell I got here, but no point in complaining, though I offhandedly wonder about my class, bases and growths. This is one of the easier Fire Emblem Games, so I'm not too worried. Just Arena Grind Seth at the Serafew arena, build up a huge bank account, and STOP! THIS IS REAL! NOT GAME MECHANICS! Permadeath is a thing, and there is no reset, no restart.

Push it to the back, there's a battle to fight. First, to get a better weapon. Head to the armory. Dude's got brown hair, green shirt, leather vest. "What's going on out there?" He asks.

"Bandits." Comes my (somehow not shaky) reply. "I need a sword, and I need it now." I toss my coin sack onto the counter, and lay my knife down as well. "Something light. I don't care if this is enough. I'll pay later."

The man nods, heads back into the armory, and comes back out with... oh, so that's what a Slim Sword looks like. Three-and-a-half feet long, with the hilt adding another three-fourths. Blade itself is barely more than a centimeter across. Picking it up, it doesn't feel very heavy. My backpack is heavier, and this actually has weight distribution.

He puts the scabbard for the sword on the counter as well. "Kick their asses," he says, "and the sword's on the house."

I nod, fasten scabbard to my belt, put the knife back on my thigh, grab the coins, and head back out the door. Out the door, sword's drawn and ready to SHIT THAT'S A BANDIT! Fight now!

Dodge the attack, go for the femoral! Yes! Got him!

Shit! He's still coming! Alright, backpedal. Watch the footwork, watch the eyes... there!

Dodge around his charge, go for the arm... YES! There goes his triceps. Follow up! Go for the neck, feel a thud as the sword embeds into his vertebrae. Pull the sword out of the corpse, turn to see...

Huh, guess that the battle's over. Everyone's migrating to that fort in the middle of the pass.

* * *

"You saved my son." Garcia says. "I owe you my thanks."

Eirika shakes her head. "It's not necessary."

Seth's eyes narrow, then go wide again in recognition. "You're the Great Garcia, aren't you? You fought for Renais."

Garcia sighs. "It's been a while since anyone's called me that." Garcia said.

"Seth," Eirika asks, "do you know this man?"

Seth shakes his head. "Not personally, but I know of him. Until about ten years ago, he was a troop commander in Renais' army. When I was a recruit, the soldiers told so many stories about him, but all of them portrayed him as a daring and fearless fighter." Seth looks back to Garcia. "Garcia, you must know about the peril that our homeland faces right now. Would you be able to find it in you to take up arms for her once again?"

Garcia sighs. "I'm sorry. I'm retired now. I decided long ago that the life of a soldier wasn't what I wanted. When I was a soldier, I lived my life as a soldier. My very existence served to fight for Renais' honor, fighting for faceless, uncaring nobles... and in doing so, I left no time for my family. Every now and then, I'd secure some time and come back home, but..."

Is he... crying? That's intense.

"When my wife fell ill and died, I met the child that she'd left behind, the child I'd neglected, and I realized what my duty to those faceless nobles had cost me. I stood at my wife's grave, and swore that I'd be a father to our son." He shakes his head. "I'm done with armies and the honor of nations. I'm done with fighting, unless it's to keep my son safe."

And mood ruined in three, two, one...

"You idiot!" Ross yells, shocking everyone. "What kind of idiotic bullshit are you spewing?" He shakes his head. "You-"

"Ross, what are you-"

"No, dad!" Ross says, interrupting his father's interruption. Is that interruption-ception? "I respect you more than anyone. You gave up your soldier's life for me, and I get that, but you're a _fighter_, dad! It's what you do! It's in your blood! You can't just give it up and go on with your life!"

"Have you seen me fight, dad?" Ross asks. "I'm your son, the son of the Great Garcia, and I'm a warrior just like you! You can worry about me all that you want, but the fact is that I can survive on my own!"

"Ross, I-"

"Do you want to challenge me, dad?" Ross asks, grabbing his hatchet. "I won't lose! I'm the best fighter in Ide! I won't lose to you, or to anyone!"

Garcia smiles. "You're right, Ross." Garcia looked back to Seth. "Seth, right? Well, Sir Seth, so long as there's breath in my lungs and blood in my veins, I'd like to serve." He pats Ross' shoulder. "It looks like my son grew up when I wasn't looking. He's tough, just like his father. I've raised him as best as I could, but he's right: Worrying won't get me anywhere."

Well, that's done. "And what about you?" Seth asks, looking at me. "What's your story?"

Shit. How do I explain my existence in non-videogame terms?

"I'm Andrew. I'm a wanderer." I explain, thinking fast. "A loner. Been that way most of my life."

"A mercenary?" Eirika asks.

That works. "Well, sorta. More of a jack-of-all-trades, a handyman. But yes, I've done a bit of mercenary work."

"Kinda young for a mercenary." Seth points out.

"You're really going to say that after the speech that Ross pulled?" I ask incredulously. "Anyways, I was in a border town collecting pay when Grado soldiers started marching in. I got in a bit of trouble when they tried to disarm me, and I've been on the run since."

Seth nods. He probably doubts my story, but Eirika seems to believe it readily. "At any rate, I've come to like Renais and her people, and I'm not about to let Grado's troops walk all over them." I look to Eirika, and give her my best 'determined' look. "Keep me or get rid of me. I'll keep fighting. Choice is entirely up to you."

Eirika smiles. "Andrew, it'd be an honor to have you fight with us. Money might be a bit of a problem, but-"

I hold up my hand. "I might be a mercenary, but I'm also a person. I won't stand by idly while Grado's troops do whatever they please." I look up. "No charge."

Eirika nods. "Then welcome aboard, Andrew!"


	2. Chapter 2

"The local villagers tell me that Bazba's Bandits keep their lair nearby, and a few of them saw a boy matching the description of our bracelet thief. It's a fair assumption that the boy is one of the bandits."

Eirika and I nod. Everyone else is in the village, restocking food, water, and other important supplies, while we waited on a forest path just outside of town.

Note to self: Ask Colm why he stole the bracelet. The game's writers probably just put that in as an excuse to give an archer and a thief to the player, but since this obviously isn't the game, I'm kinda curious.

"Bandits." Eirika whispers, hair hiding her face, her grip on her rapier tightening. "Here in Renais, our homeland... I had no idea." She looks up and DEAR GOD that woman is _pissed_. "Burning our villages, stealing from our people, all with no fear of retribution?"

I swear, she looks like she's ready to kill something. "It wasn't always like this." I say quickly. "I've been through here a few times on my travels. Typically, Renais' knights do a splendid job of working with the townspeople to keep the bandits in check. But with Renais' military in tatters..." I shake my head. "I had hoped that Grado would be more interested in keeping the peace. If they continue to neglect Renais' people, then this country is doomed."

Eirika goes deadly silent. I know what that means, and it terrifies me. Before coming here, I was one of the silent ones, a fly on the wall, a wallflower. Not a lot bothered me, and I'd overreact a lot to the little things. But when someone pressed one of my berserk buttons, like hurting someone I love, or making fun of mentally challenged people, I didn't overreact. I didn't react at all. I went dead silent. In that silence, I'd plan out exactly how I'd make them pay for what they did. I know that Eirika was doing he same, and I knew one other thing: I would really hate to be Bazba after she was through with him.

There was a soft rustle of leaves to the side, and I drew my weapon quickly. It was Neimi. She was short, with purple hair and matching eyes that currently looked like they'd done a good deal of crying recently. There was a quiver hanging at her hip, and a bow was strung across her chest. I put my weapon away and really Seth? You're on guard against that poor little thing?

"Excuse me, but... are you guys... mercenaries?" Seriously, the game should have made that font different. I can barely hear the girl talking, and she's literally ten feet away.

"I am." I say. "How can I- OOF!"

The grunt comes when a fourteen-year old girl takes the opportunity to ram into me at a full sprint. Damn, she's fast. Screw the Ranger class, she doesn't need a horse to keep up with the cavalry if she can go that fast from _standing_.

"Pleaseyouhavetohelpcolmitoldhimitwasdangerousbuthejustdidntlisten-" The vocal contrast this girl has is truly remarkable.

I wriggle my arms out of her bear hug and put them on her shoulders. "Whoa, slow down. Let me go, take a step back, breath in and out, then start again, slower this time." Seriously, I did high-school debate, and that meant talking fast enough to cut five minutes off of a twenty-minute speech. I only barely understood what she just said.

She nods, takes a step back, and starts over. "I'm Neimi. I'm from... I used to be from a village called Lark. Except the village isn't there anymore."

Eirika frowns. "Gone. You mean-"

Neimi nods. "Bazba's Bandits burned it down. Colm and I... we're the only ones left." She teared up. "The other villagers... Bazba's Bandits surrounded them and..."

Ladies and gentlemen, Neimi Fal- whoa, _what_? Surrounded? As in, herded like sheep and slaughtered? I look over to Eirika, and wonder if she'd mind if we coordinated our plans to torture the man. When we finally finished with that bastard, he'd be wishing I'd ended up in another Awakening self-insert.

Thankfully, Seth manages to keep a level head in all of this. "Neimi, what are you doing here?"

"Bazba's Bandits have a hideout here in these mountains. Colm went... Colm's my... we've known each other for... he's my best friend, the only one I have left. I had to leave something back in Lark, but when we looked for it, it wasn't there, so he's trying to steal it back."

That snaps Eirika out of her thoughts. "He went alone? That's incredibly stupid and dangerous!"

Neimi nods. "That's exactly what I told him, but he wouldn't listen. If I lose Colm too, I... I..." Tears started streaking down her face and she started sniffling. I wonder how she deals with a stuffy nose?

Eirika goes over to Neimi, and gives her a hug. "Don't worry." She tells her softly. "We'll find your friend and make sure he's not hurt. I promise."

I smile. "Well, she promised, so there's no backing out now."

Neimi looks up at me, then back to Eirika, and gives her a tight hug. "Thank you!" She releases Eirika, and looks up to her. "I don't have much money, but I'll do whatever I can to pay you."

Seth pulls Eirika to the side, and they start talking. I look at Neimi. "Do you know the way to their hideout?" I ask.

She nods. "Before they took it over, Colm and I would go there all the time. It was a place we could be alone together and just talk."

Eirika and Seth finish talking, and rejoin us. "Andrew," Seth says, "head into town and get the others. We're going to take out the bandit lair."

* * *

We enter into a courtyard in front of a small fortress. To the right, walking in, is a wall that looks like it has seen way better days. Looking at it, I'm not surprised it's possible for a bow and arrow are able to clear it away. It looks like a game of Jenga, played with bricks instead of blocks. There are some bricks which are sticking out, and others which have been pushed to the other side.

"Is there anything else I can do?" Neimi asks. "I feel like I haven't done enough."

Before anyone else can speak up, I act. "You any good with that bow?"

She nods. "When he was still alive, I would go hunting with my grandfather."

I nod, and turn to Seth, who is giving me a look that says "I'm not getting a child involved."

"She can stay behind our lines." I say. "Better than just leaving her out of this and having Eirika worry."

He considers this, then sighs and nods, and rides to inform Eirika of the situation. Then, he rides back.

"See the walls there?" I ask him. He looks over to them, and he processes what I mean very quickly.

"Garcia or Gilliam?" He asks me. I feel like he knows the answer already, like he's testing me, trying to figure out whether or not I'm as experienced as I claim to be.

"Garcia, definitely." I answer. "From what I've seen, these bandits prefer axes. Putting Gilliam in there would put him at a disadvantage. Close quarters like that make a spear hard to wield anyways, and they're meant to keep an enemy at bay, not fight when he's right in front of you. Factor in that an axe, by design, is a fairly short weapon, and that it's pretty easy for an axe to bat a lance out of the way, and you've got a disaster waiting to happen." Hooray for having mental debates with myself over how it works while I write FE fanfiction!

Seth nods, and calls for Garcia, Ross, and Franz to approach the battered wall furthest from the entrance, while the rest of us head for the main entrance.

Steps start echoing through the room, and my eyes immediately find the staircase.

"I've got what I came here for." A voice says from the stairs. "Now I just need to find Bazba and put a knife between his ribs." A tuft of blue hair pops up, followed by a head. Then lean shoulders and a cloaked body. Colm turns around, presumably to pick the door, when he sees us. "Shit."

"Colm!" Neimi yelps, running forward. His eyes widen.

"N-Neimi? What are you-" He looks back up at us, and notices that we're armed. He grabs Neimi's arm and pulls her behind him, drawing his knife in a defiant gesture. "Who are you?"

"Colm!" Neimi yelps. "They're here to help!"

Colm looks from Neimi to our group, then back to Neimi. He slowly puts the knife away. "Why did you drag her into this?" Colm said. "I had her stay behind for a reason! This is dangerous!"

"So your solution is to go alone, and get yourself killed?" I ask pointedly. "You're a kid, these are bandits. I don't care if you've got a personal vendetta against these guys for massacring an entire village, trying to take on entire group alone like that is going to accomplish nothing more than an early death, and making Neimi the only sign that Lark even existed."

Colm stands there, angry, but also stunned. Guess he never thought about that. "D-don't talk to me like you know my life!" He retorts.

"I don't need to know your life." I counter. "All I need to know is there's a girl behind you who cares about you, and needs you now more than she ever has. And if you respond to that by rushing ahead on a suicidal mission like this, then you're a bigger idiot than I thought."

He doesn't retort this time. He stands there, considering what I've said.

"You want to get these people for what they've done." I say. "I get that. But this isn't something that you can do alone."

* * *

I've never seen someone actually pick a lock before. Colm makes it look surprisingly easy. He pulls out his knife and lockpick, sticks them both in, and fiddles around a bit until the lock clicks and he swings the door open. We all rush ahead into what looks like a treasure room. There's a bandit sta- COLM WHAT DID I JUST GET THROUGH SAYING? Colm pulls his knife, and cuts the bandit's arm. The bandit grunts, and cups his wound, then strikes out. Colm dodges NO HE DOESN'T! The axe hits him in the side as he jumps to the side, and sends him spinning. The bandit turns to face us and WHAT WAS THAT! I jump to the side as an arrow sticks into the bandit's right eye socket, and he falls backwards to the floor. I turn to see Neimi breathing heavily, eyes burning with a mix of fear and fury.

Note to self: Neimi will not hesitate to put an arrow in an eye if Colm is in danger.

After Colm finished picking the chests in the treasure room, we meet up with the other group, and we prepare to go through another wall. I know what's on the other side of this wall. Usually, I'd have Ross and Neimi exploit the fact that Fire Emblem physics allow arrows and axes to go through feet of solid stone and get a couple of kills here for the EXP, with Moulder healing, but that's not an option now.

"Hang on." I say. Everyone looks at me. "There's got to be a bunch of bandits in there. There's no way we've killed more than half of them so far. We'll have surprise for a bit, then they'll rally. I have a plan."

* * *

Five minutes later, the wall blows down from a well-placed spear hit. Gilliam moves aside, and Eirika, Colm and I charge forwards. Seth, Franz, and Vanessa throw some javelins, Garcia and Ross throw some hand axes, and they follow close behind. Neimi stays behind Gilliam, providing ranged support in the melee. I immediately find myself glad to have planned like that. The opening barrage only managed to take out about half of the bandits in here. I scan for- Shit! Block! I throw my sword up to block the incoming knife. Looks like I caught the thief. Easy enou- OW SHIT! My hand opens as my sword clangs to the floor, complements of a well-placed pommel strike to my wrist. I look up, and the thief is grinning widely, the offending knife in his right hand. Big mistake in not cutting with the knife.

He charges. Bigger mistake. Knife comes down. Side-step, hand on the knife-hand's wrist, other on his forearm. Keep its momentum going, bring it around, slide with the push. Windmill the arm back to the top, then push it inwards. He screams as the arm pops out of its joint, and I get the knife, which goes around to the front, and is shoved between his second and third ribs and into his heart and a lung. That's where it stays as I let him drop and scoop up my sword. I look around, and see a bandit with his bare back turned to me as he swings his axe at Garcia. Check the approach's flanks, see nothing, FOR NARNIA! Swing! Sword comes down at an angle onto his neck, and gets stuck in his cervical vertebrae. He falls, and I slide my sword ou- OH GOD THAT SOUND! Metal grates against bone and the grip of my sword vibrates as I pull and stomach, don't you dare. Now is not the time to puke... Thank you.

I look back up. The battle has moved on. I keep moving. More bodies as I go. Everyone's in the throne room. Neimi and Colm are at the front of the group, Eirika right behind. Bazba's standing near his throne, flanked by fallen bodies. One has a knife in his forehead, the other is still gurgling with an arrow in his throat. I look at Colm and N- Oh wow. Neimi's face is blank. That's actually really fucking scary.

She slowly raises her bow, an arrow already resting on the string. Bazba hisses. I see the hand axes in Gilliam's shield. Suddenly, Bazba bolts forwards.

The first arrow pierces his foot as he runs, anchoring him to the ground, and collapsing him. He slides forwards a bit, the arrow ripping flesh before snapping. The second arrow pins his bicep to the floor as he tries to throw his steel axe. He's screaming now, stuff like "You bitch!" and "I'm going to kill you!" His other arm goes to remove the arrow pinning him, only to have another arrow go through his hand and pin both uselessly. There's fear in his eyes now, mixed with the rage and pain.

"That was for Lark." Neimi says. Then Ross charges forwards, hatchet in hand, and slams its blade down onto Bazba's head, splitting his skull and ending his life. Ross wipes some of the spatter off of his face.

"That was for Ide." He says.

Then, Neimi drops to her knees, and starts bawling. Colm moves to comfort her. "Come on, you dummy." He says, hugging her tight. "Let's get out of here."

Colm picks her up, and they start walking out. "I'm sorry." He says.

* * *

"No more." Neimi says once we're back in the courtyard. "No more of this," She sniffs, "this dangerous stuff. Not by yourself."

Colm nods. "Alright, but you have to try to stop crying all the time."

She nods. "Okay."

He stops, and pulls the mirror out of his pocket. "I got it back, Neimi." He says. "I got your mother's mirror back."

Neimi takes the mirror carefully, like, if she touched it, it would simply disappear. She holds it gingerly, then throws her arms around Colm. "Oh, thank you Colm!" She says, tears cascading down her cheeks.

"I hate to break up such a touching moment," Seth says, "but you really should return Princess Eirika's bracelet to her now."

Colm looks at Seth in surprise. "_Princess_ Eirika?" He looks over to Eirika. "I... I'm sorry." He says, pulling the bracelet out. "I didn't realize that it was you, your highness. Your father did so much for our village... Is he..."

Eirika nods, and takes the bracelet. "Yes. He is."

We all fall silent for a moment before Colm breaks it. "Umm, so where do we go from here?" He asks. "Neimi and I... we don't have a home or family any more. We're all that's left. I-"

"You could come with us." I say. Oh, everyone's staring at me. "I saw both of you fight today, and do more besides. I personally believe that we could use someone with your skill sets."

Seth clears his throat. "While I do understand the appeal of an archer, are you sure that a thief-"

"Seth, this is a war now." I interrupt. "Grado has blatantly invaded Renais, and their not doing anything to protect her people. As we go closer and closer to Grado's borders, there will be more soldiers, and fewer people sympathetic to our cause. We'll need all of the weapons and supplies that we can get, and if we can't get them from sympathizers, the next best thing is to take them from our enemies."

Seth blinks, then nods and turns to Colm and Neimi. "If you two are up for the task, we'd be glad to have you two with us."

Colm nods. "Thank you. You won't regret your decision, I promise."


	3. Chapter 3

I know what's going to happen here. These are the Za'ha Woods. First Monster encounter in the game. Artur and Lute. Cameo by L'arachel, Dozla, and Rennac. But the place itself is giving me the creeps. A weird fog's hanging over the place.

Our group comes out of the thickest part of the forest, to a place where rivers cross and flow on.

"We're nearing Serafew." Seth says. "Once we cross, we'll be in Grado. Renvall shouldn't be too far afterward."

"Asuming that we can cross the border without running into trouble." I say. "I-"

Eirika points up. "Look!" She says. "Over there!" I know what's coming. I follow her finger to where it points at a gap in the fog.

Even with these things in the distance, I can already tell that the game sprites really don't do these things justice. Before I can get a good look, though, the fog closes back up.

"Were they... Human?" Eirika asks.

I shake my head. "If those were human, I'm a dragon."

Seth shakes his head. "I've never seen anything like them. What could they be?"

Suddenly, a robed figure started running up to us from the south. I'd never thought about it before, but now I feel like it's plainly obvious that Artur, who just sprinted past legions of the undead without breaking his stride, has balls of silver.

"Travelers, you must listen to me! The ancient forest of Za'ha is dangerous! Leave this place before these fiends surround you!"

"Are you a member of the clergy?" I ask. "You're wearing a monk's robes..."

He nods. "My name is Artur. The temple has given me the task of clearing the forest of these... things." He shakes his head. "There are so many of the fiends, though. I wonder if I can complete the task alone..." He looks back up at us. "So I ask you all to flee now, while you have the chance."

"Fiends?" Eirika asks. "You don't really think that these are the same monsters as the ones who helped the Demon King, do you? That can't be right. They're nothing but myths and fairy tales."

Artur nods. "I didn't believe it at first, either. But here they are. And surely they're not just here in Renais alone. But I wonder how far they've spread."

"But why are they here?" I ask. "How?"

Artur shakes his head. "I don't know, but that's not important now! You must flee the way you came!

I take one look behind us, and go white. "Not an option!" I say, pointing. More of the figures are closing in on our rear. "We're trapped!" I turn back to Artur. "It looks like you're going to have some help clearing these fiends out."

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. "Shit!" I say. "One of them's coming at us!"

Artur turns around, producing a tome from a pocket in his robes. "Evil being, the blessed light shall drive you from this land!" He holds out his hand, palm facing the oh man that thing's gross. He's fighting a Mogall, a floating eyeball that's at least as big as a man and comes equipped with dark magic. Miscellaneous viscera are hanging out the back of it, making it look like it was ripped from a giant's eye socket. The thing is bloodshot too, with red lines crisscrossing the sclera, cutting in and out of the blood-red iris.

Two pulses of light shoot out of Artur's outstretched hand and slam into the eye. The first pulse cuts along the thing's side, injuring it. The second, though, goes right through the pupil and out the other side. The eye falls to the ground, and dark-red blood, almost black, pools around it.

"Seth." I say. "You should fall back and protect the caravan, guide it to that village over there."

Seth looks at me incredulously, and looks like he's ready to object. I preempt him. "Eirika is a capable fighter who can take care of herself, Seth. But that caravan is holding all of our food and water, as well as our spare weapons and most of our money. If we lose it, we'll have to turn back to Frelia and waste valuable time getting restocked."

Seth nods. "I understand, but know this: If Eirika dies before I return, it will be on your head."

I nod. "Go! Those things are closing on it!"

He nods, and turns his horse around, riding to protect the caravan. I think for a moment, then yell "Take Colm with you!"

Seth doesn't respond. He just picks the thief up bodily and brings him along, setting him down beside him on his horse. My hope is that the thief will display enough talent to warrant being less discriminated against by the paladin.

I go up to Artur. "Do you know of anyone who might be able to help us?" He nods. "The village to the south. I have a traveling companion there."

I nod, and point him to Vanessa, who's saddled up on her pegasus. "Have her take you there." Artur nods, and starts heading over to her. Meanwhile, I look at the remainder of the combat force available, and survey what I can of the battlefield. I'm no real tactician, but I know enough to get by in a pinch like this one. "Everyone, listen up! We need to form a defensive line! Stronger and faster soldiers up front! Neimi, you, Moulder, and Ross stay in the back to provide support!"

Everyone arranges as I asked, and OH SHIT DODGE!

The revenant's claws swipe through the air right where I was a moment before. Shit, how'd he get here so fast? I mean, I get that the things are the spawn of dark magic, but this thing is rotting muscles! I swing my sword at the thing's arm in an attempt to... Puns in my head. My sword cuts deep and oh shit that stinks worse than... more puns in my head. I really should OH GOD DODGE AGAIN! SHIT THAT HURTS!

I take two steps back. These things are way tougher than their pathetic stats should allow, even if this is hard mode. My left arm hurts, and if I don't get it healed, there'll probably be an infection. But first I have to survive the battle. I look back up and BRIGHT!

"Thanks, Artur." I mutter, heading back into the fight.

Alright, who can I help? Gilliam's just tanking everything, Eirika's not getting hit. Franz might want some OH SHIT SWORD! Block, return to neutral, face opponent. It's a bonewalker. The thing's wearing really ragged clothing, torn and shredded, or just rotted, I don't care. All I care about is the sword that it's holdi-SWINGING AT ME! Block again, counter attack hits it in the spine, between the rib cage and pelvis and this thing is a female. Small coccyx, large pelvic opening. That's creepy AND THAT'S A SWORD! Dodge, rip sword out, hit again, this time going for the head, swinging as hard as I can. The sword cleaves about half-way into the skull, where it stops. Now I'm holding the sword at a weird angle, and SHIT STILL IN DANGER! Hold on to the sword! Don't lose the sword!

I pull hard on the weapon, and somehow yank it free and _dizzy_. I start spinning, and hold my sword out. I jerk to a stop as my sword stops my rotation, hitting the bonewalker in about the same place on its spine, this time from the other side. The entire assemblage snaps in two and falls to the ground.

Absently, I realize that, if I'd come here as I was on Earth, I'd already be dead. I can fight, not survive in a war. Then my mind drifts to other self-inserts I've read. Didn't one of them operate on the premise of "you come here, fix everything bad about you, get a mirror image with power level XY, where X is your strength and Y is an arbitrary value assigned to the magnitude of how you changed?" Aw shit. If I have to deal with that... No. No, this isn't another Awakening self-insert. This is Sacred Stones. Unless that kind of shit applies everywhere and every time, I should be fine.

STOP! BATTLEFIELD! FOCUS! I look around frantically, wondering how I haven't been attacked yet. Then I realize that the battle's wound down. Moulder is tending to everyone's wounds. Shapeless forms meander on the opposite bank. Seth and Colm are back, with a myriad of cuts across Seth's horse's armor, and that's a lot of blood on his lance. Colm jumps off, and rejoins Neimi. I look to the south, where a large, dead tree catches my eye. Oh yeah, this map had a snag. I find Garcia, and explain what I want him to do.

"You want me to play lumberjack?" He asks.

I can't help but chuckle. "I suppose that's one way to say it."

He nods. "Alright. I'll see what I can do."

* * *

We arrive at the village with only minimal trouble. Lute's waiting at the gate, book in hand. "Lute!" Artur says. "Help has arrived!"

Lute remains silent.

"Did you hear me, Lute?" Artur asks. "I said th-"

"None of their flesh shows signs of putrefaction." Lute says in a matter-of-fact tone. "None of them are revenants, it seems."

Artur shakes his head. "I know that, Lute. These people are here to help. All I ask is that you stay-"

"No, I insist that I join you in combat." Lute says, tapping the book in her hand. I realize that she's not holding a fire tome, or even another spell book for that matter. "I've been reading up on these creatures. Quite simply, the are no match for me." She pulls a satchel out from under her mage robes, and pulls out a fire tome, replacing it with the other book she had. Then, walking with a purpose, she heads to the river bank. On the other side, there are a few revenants shuffling about. She holds the book in one hand, with the other held in front of her. A fireball forms in front of her hand, then shoots off with a flick of her wrist. Almost as soon as the fireball launches, there's another in her hand. She machine-guns like this for about a minute. After that minute, the few revenants on the other side have been reduced to piles of smoldering ash. There's one lone figure left in the fog.

"That's a big revenant." I say. That's basically what it looks like. At first glance, at least. As we approach, the fog around it clears, and I get a full picture of what an Entombed looks like. The thing stands at seven feet tall, at least, and it's not rotting nearly as badly as the revenants were. My eyes wander down its frighteningly muscular arms to the dear god that's a claw? Each hand looks like it's tipped with steak knives.

"We are _not_ fighting that thing hand-to-hand." I declare. "And if revenants are any consideration, I don't think anyone would be able to pull hit and run safely, except maybe someone on a horse. _Maybe._" I look to Vanessa. "Don't get close to that thing. Stay as far up as you can hit it from. We don't know if these things can jump."

Vanessa nods grimly, then takes off. It takes her a solid few minutes of pelting the thing with javelins, but eventually the pincushion falls to the ground.

"That was the last one." I say.

Seth nods. "It would be a good idea to burn all of the bodies."

I nod. Honestly, I'm not sure it would help, but better safe than sorry.

Everyone splits up into different groups. I wind up with Franz, Ross, and Garcia.

"Can't believe we just fought these things." I say, dragging the rancid corpse of a Mogall by its viscera. It's surprisingly light for how big it is."

Garcia nods, and throws a revenant on top of it, forming the pile we'll be burning. "Figured these things weren't anything more than legends my dad told me to keep me in line."

Franz shudders as he piles another revenant next to the heap. "I was taught lore as part of becoming a knight. Being well-rounded and all of that. These things are supposedly the grunts."

I shake my head, kicking some bones towards the pile. "Grunts that can rip any normal man limb from limb. That's not right."

Ross pipes up as he and his dad throw another pair of Mogalls onto the pile. "Think that any of the other monsters are running around?"

"Probably." I answer. "Which means that we're in for a world of hurt."

* * *

_**A/N:**_ So, though I originally set the line in chapter one as a joke, I've been interested in actually designing a character in the style of Fire Emblem for myself. So...

Andrew

A self-proclaimed handyman. Somewhat eccentric, but kind.

Traveler

A warrior who can go anywhere to find a fight. Equip: Swords

(Can traverse Peak, Ocean)

Level: 2

HP – 20 (50%)

Strength – 6 (35%)

Skill – 7 (45%)

Speed – 8 (50%)

Luck – 5 (30%)

Defense – 3 (20%)

Resistance – 4 (20%)

Movement – 5

Constitution – 8

Affinity – Light

Current Inventory: Slim Sword, Vulnerary


End file.
